Detection of media links in broadcast signals

ABSTRACT

A detection apparatus includes a tuner tuned to the program and a meter coupled to the tuner and arranged to detect content ancillary information from the program tuned by the tuner. The content ancillary information may be a media link, closed captioning information, or the like. The meter may also be arranged to extract a broadcast signature from the program. A comparator compares the broadcast signature to a reference signature selected from a library of reference signatures based upon the content ancillary information. Broadcast signatures from unknown programs may be clustered at least partially on the basis of the content ancillary information.

RELATED APPLICATION

This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/955,691, filed Sep. 19, 2001, which is, in turn, acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/226,521,which was filed on Jan. 7, 1999. U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/955,691 is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention relates to detection of media links (such as URLs)which are embedded in programs that are transmitted by television and/orradio signal transmission sources, such as television and/or radionetworks, local broadcasters, cable operators, video servers, Web sites,and the like.

BACKGROUND

As used herein, programs mean commercials, regular programming material,documentaries, and/or the like, which are transmitted for reception bytelevisions, radios, computers, and other equipment provided with videoand/or audio tuners. Also as used herein, media links include URLsembedded in video and/or audio, surrogate URLs, or any other links invideo and/or audio that link a content recipient to content provided bya content provider (such as a Web site) or to content provided elsewherein the video and/or audio whether such content is stored in cache ornot. A surrogate URL, for example, may be an ASCII or other code that isembedded in content and that may be used to look up an URL for linkingto content. An example of a media link that links a content recipient tocontent provided elsewhere in the video and/or audio is a trigger that,when received from the video and/or audio, causes content, which waspreviously transmitted in the video and/or audio and cached by thereceiver, to be displayed to the content recipient.

Programs are transmitted by transmission sources through the use ofsatellites, over the air by way of transmitting antennas, or over cablessuch as wires or optical fibers. These transmission sources can benetworks, local broadcasters, satellite broadcasters, video servers, Websites, cable programmers, and the like.

It is frequently desirable to detect the transmission of programs by thetransmission sources. For example, in preparing program rating reports,the receivers of statistically selected panelists are metered in orderto determine at least (i) the channels to which the receivers are tunedand (ii) the times during which the receivers are tuned to thosechannels. The resulting tuning data are extrapolated over the populationas a whole, or over relevant segments of this population, in order toreport ratings. However, because the identities of programs carried inthe channels reported in the tuning data cannot always be inferred fromthe tuning data, it is necessary to determine, or at least verify, theidentity of the programs transmitted in the channels and during thetimes covered by the tuning data.

As another example, advertisers often desire to verify certaininformation regarding the transmission of their commercials bytransmission sources. This information includes a verification (i) thatthe commercials were actually transmitted, (ii) that the commercialswere transmitted in their entirety, and (iii) that the commercials weretransmitted in the correct time slots and in the correct channels. Thisinformation allows advertisers to determine whether they received thevalue for which they contracted with the relevant transmission sources.

As yet another example, advertisers often desire to ascertain theadvertising strategies of competitors. These advertising strategies maybe discerned from the types of advertisements run by competitors, thecompetitors' expenditures on such advertisements, the media chosen tocarry such advertisements, and the like.

Accordingly, systems have been developed in order to identifytransmitted programs. For example, in connection with reporting programratings, a program verification system known as the AMOL (AutomatedMonitoring of Line-up) program verification system is operated by theassignee of the present invention. In this AMOL program verificationsystem, a code is inserted into the vertical blanking interval ofprograms. Monitoring equipment at sites located in relevant geographicalareas read the AMOL codes from transmitted programs and detect thechannels in which these programs are transmitted as well as the timesduring which these programs are transmitted. Accordingly, the AMOLprogram verification system is able to verify that particular programswere transmitted in corresponding particular channels, duringcorresponding particular time slots, and for particular correspondingamounts of time. The verified program/channel relationship, coupled withthe channel tuning data acquired from the receivers of the statisticallyselected panelists, are used to determine the programs to which thesereceivers were tuned.

As another example, the assignee of the present invention operates aservice known as the Monitor Plus service in which sets of commercialmonitoring equipment are placed in selected geographical monitoringareas. The sets of commercial monitoring equipment tune to each of thechannels available in the corresponding geographical areas and extractbroadcast signatures from commercials carried in these channels. Thechannels, times, and dates of the broadcast signature extractions arealso noted. The extracted broadcast signatures are compared topreviously extracted reference signatures. In each geographicalmonitoring area, these reference signatures are stored in a referencesignature library along with identification information regarding thecommercials from which the reference signatures were extracted.

Because there are typically many reference signatures stored in areference signature library, and because comparing the broadcastsignatures to all such reference signatures would require a substantialamount of time, hash codes are used to focus the search such that thesearch finds only those reference signatures which are potential matchesto the broadcast signatures. The hash codes are computed from one ormore characteristics, such as luminance, of the broadcast signatures sothat only those reference signatures producing similar hash codes withinsome range are compared to the broadcast signatures.

When broadcast signatures match reference signatures, the identities ofthe transmitted commercials are known from the identity informationstored with the matching reference signatures. Also, the channels,times, and dates of commercial transmissions are known from the matchingbroadcast signatures. The sets of monitoring equipment can also detectthe length of the commercial as transmitted by comparing multiplebroadcast signatures and multiple reference signatures extracted fromthe same commercial. Accordingly, reports can be generated that permitadvertisers to verify that their commercials have been run in thechannels, on the days, in the time slots, and for the durations desired,and/or to permit advertisers to ascertain the advertising strategies oftheir competitors.

When broadcast signatures do not match reference signatures, however, itmay be possible that a new commercial has been transmitted for whichthere are no reference signatures stored in the library. In this case,the extracted broadcast signatures corresponding to each possibly newcommercial are stored for later transmission to a central facility wherethe possibly new commercial is viewed and identified by an attendant.This viewing and identification process is usually referred to as newcommercial labeling. Once identified, the new commercial's broadcastsignatures are converted to reference signatures and are stored in thereference signature libraries.

Clustering is performed in each geographical monitoring area so that ageographical monitoring area does not send the same new commercialmultiple times to the central facility for new commercial discovery.During clustering in a geographical monitoring area, the broadcastsignatures of each possibly new commercial are compared to the broadcastsignatures of the other possibly new commercials in order to detectduplicates. Duplicates are not transmitted to the central facility.Accordingly, the efficiency of new commercial discovery is increasedbecause only one instance of each possibly new commercial is transmittedto, and processed by, the central facility. However, because an instanceof a possibly new commercial may be received at the central facilityfrom more than one geographical monitoring area, clustering is againperformed at the central facility prior to each initiation of newcommercial discovery.

Furthermore, it is expected that other appliances, such as computers andset top boxes, will be equipped with tuners so that these appliances candisplay video and/or audio, such as television and/or radio programs. Itis also expected that this video and/or audio will contain media links.Accordingly, if a user of a computer, digital television, set top box,or other video and/or audio receiving device is viewing a program ofinterest, and desires to access other information associated with theprogram, the user can click on the program. Clicking on the program willcause a media link, which is embedded in the program, to be sent back toa Web site or other content provider with the result that additionalinformation will be downloaded to the user's appliance. In the casewhere the media links are self-activating, such as where the media linkis a trigger, clicking on the program need not be required. Instead, themedia link, when detected by the video, audio, and/or data receivingdevice, automatically causes the display of ancillary content which, forexample, may have been previously transmitted in the video, audio,and/or data signal and cached in the receiving device or in auxiliaryequipment.

Because these media links will likely uniquely identify the programs inwhich they are used, the present invention is directed to an arrangementfor detecting these media links in order to determine the identities ofthe programs in which the media links are embedded. Accordingly, thepresent invention is useful in an AMOL type system, a Monitor Plus typesystem, or in other systems in which the identity of a transmittedprogram is desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from a detailed consideration of the invention whentaken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example metering system having monitoringequipment located at a monitoring site and a central facility locatedremotely from the monitoring site;

FIG. 2 illustrates in flow chart form one embodiment of a program thatmay be executed by the monitoring equipment at the monitoring site ofFIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate in flow chart form an alternative embodiment ofa program that may be executed by the monitoring equipment at themonitoring site of FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 5 illustrates in flow chart form a clustering program that may beexecuted by the monitoring equipment at the monitoring site and/or bythe computer at the central facility of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIG. 1, monitoring equipment 10 is located at a monitoringsite 12 and includes a tuner 14 which tunes to a channel contained in asignal received by a signal acquisition device 16. The signalacquisition device 16 may be a modem, a satellite dish or other antenna,or the like and acquires signals transmitted by transmission sources.The signal carried in the channel to which the tuner 14 is tuned issupplied to a meter 17 which includes a media link detector 18 and asignature extractor 20. The media link detector 18 is arranged to detectmedia links in a manner which is similar to present metering equipmentthat detect other ancillary codes, such as AMOL codes. In the presentcase, however, the media link detector 18 is arranged to decode thesignal carried in the channel to which the tuner 14 is tuned in order todetect a media link. When the media link detector 18 detects a medialink, it causes the media link to be stored in a log 22.

In the event that a media link is not contained in a program which iscarried in the channel to which the tuner 14 is tuned, the signatureextractor 20 extracts one or more broadcast signatures from the program.Broadcast signatures are likewise stored in the log 22. Signatures maybe extracted in a manner disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,466. Thispatent discloses example conditions which initiate signature extraction.However, although specific conditions are disclosed, it should beunderstood that other conditions may be used to initiate signatureextraction. For example, a signature may be extracted from each nthframe of a program. Moreover, any suitable techniques may be used tocollect the data that form the signatures.

A clock 24 is associated with the log 22 so that the time and date thateach media link is detected by the media link detector 18 may be storedalong with the corresponding media link. Similarly, the time and datethat each broadcast signature is extracted by the signature extractor 20may be stored along with the broadcast signature. Also, the channel towhich the tuner 14 is tuned at the time that a media link is detected bythe media link detector 18 or a signature is extracted by the signatureextractor 20 may be stored in the log 22 along with the correspondingmedia link or broadcast signature.

Periodically, the data stored in the log 22 is transmitted bycommunication equipment 26 from the monitoring site 12 to a remotelylocated central facility 28 over a communication medium 30. Thecommunication equipment 26 may be arranged to periodically transmit thedata stored in the log 22 to the central facility 28. Alternatively, thecommunication equipment 26 may be arranged to transmit the data storedin the log 22 when the log 22 has a predetermined amount of data storedtherein. As a still further alternative, the communication equipment 26may be arranged to respond to polls from the central facility 28 inorder to initiate the transfer of data to the central facility 28. Stillother alternatives and combinations of alternatives are possible.

The communication medium 30 may be any communication medium whichsupports the transfer of information between remote locations. Forexample, the communication medium 30 may be a public telephone network,air accessed by radiating antennas such as satellite, cellular, andterrestrial antennas, over cables such as the RF return over a cableplant, the Internet, or the like.

A computer 32 is located at the central facility 28. The computer 32 maybe arranged to identify programs from the media links and broadcastsignatures transmitted to it by the communication equipment 26. Forexample, in the case of media links, the computer 32 may be arranged tocompare the media links received from the monitoring site 12 to alibrary of media links which contain both the media links and the titlesand/or other identifying information corresponding to the programs fromwhich the media links were detected by the media link detector 18.Accordingly, when the computer 32 is provided with a media link from themonitoring site 12, it can identify and/or verify the program whichcontains that media link and which was transmitted by a transmissionsource. The computer 32 can also determine, if desired, that the programcontaining the media link was transmitted at a particular time, on aparticular day, and on a particular channel from the channel, time, anddate information transmitted to the central facility 28 along with thedetected media link.

In some cases, the programs may be completely identified from the medialink itself. In this case, there is no need to use the look up table inthe identification process. In other cases, particularly where a programhas been transmitted for the first time, no information is provided inthe look up table from which the program may be identified. In thiscase, the media link may be used to access the Web site or contentassociated with the media link in order to discover the identity of theprogram, or the program may be viewed by personnel of the centralfacility 28 in order to discover the identity of the program. Then, theidentity of the program may be entered into the look up table under themedia link for future identifications.

The computer 32 may also be arranged to identify and/or verify programswhich do not contain media links. For example, the computer 32 may bearranged to compare the broadcast signatures received from themonitoring site 12 to a library of reference signatures which containboth the reference signatures and the titles and/or other identifyinginformation corresponding to the programs from which the referencesignatures were extracted. Accordingly, when the computer 32 is providedwith broadcast signatures from the monitoring site 12, it can identifyprograms and/or verify the transmission of programs by matching thesebroadcast signatures with the reference signatures stored in thereference signature library. The computer 32 can also determine, ifdesired, that the programs containing the extracted broadcast signatureswere transmitted at particular times, on particular days, and onparticular channels from the channel, time, and date informationtransmitted to the central facility 28 along with the extractedbroadcast signatures.

Alternatively, the computer 32 may use both detected media links andextracted broadcast signatures, where available from the same program,in order to increase certainty that a program is properly identifiedand/or verified. As a still further alternative, the computer 32 mayidentify and/or verify a program from the media links in the event thatthe computer 32 is unable to first identify and/or verify the programfrom the extracted broadcast signatures.

The meter 17 operates in accordance with a software routine 50 shown inFIG. 2. The software routine 50, at a block 52, determines from theoutput of the tuner 14 whether a program of interest is received. Forexample, the software routine 50 at the block 52 may operate inaccordance with the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,466 in order todetermine the start of a program of interest. (Alternatively, thesoftware routine 50 at the block 52 may be arranged to simply detectwhen the tuner 14 is on and is tuned to a channel in which there iscontent. In this case, the output of the tuner 14 is continuouslymonitored for media links, and broadcast signatures are extracted fromthe output of the tuner 14 on a continuous basis.) A program of interestmay be a commercial, regular programming material, a documentary, and/orthe like.

If a program of interest is not detected at the block 52, the softwareroutine 50 waits for a program of interest. However, if a program ofinterest is detected, the software routine 50 at a block 54 determineswhether a media link is detected by the media link detector 18 from asegment of the current program. For example, this segment may have adeterminate length, such as n frames of the current program.Alternatively, this segment may have an indeterminate length determinedby conditions of the program signal as disclosed in the above mentionedU.S. Pat. No. 4,677,466.

If a media link is detected from the current segment of the currentprogram at the block 54, the media link is logged at a block 56. Becausea media link is detected in the program of interest, it may not benecessary to save any broadcast signatures which may have been extractedfrom the current program prior to the time at which the media link isdetected. If so, the software routine 50 at a block 58 deletes from thelog only the broadcast signatures extracted by the signature extractor20 from the current program, and program flow thereafter returns to theblock 52 to wait for the next program of interest.

On the other hand, if a media link is not detected from the currentsegment of the current program at the block 54, the software routine 50at a block 60 extracts a broadcast signature from the current programappearing at the output of the tuner 14. The software routine 50 at ablock 62 logs the broadcast signature extracted by the signatureextractor 20 at the block 60.

The software routine 50 then determines at a block 64 whether an end tothe current program is detected. For example, the software routine 50 atthe block 52 may operate in accordance with the above mentioned U.S.Pat. No. 4,677,466 in order to determine the end of the current program.If an end to the current program is not yet detected, program flowreturns to the block 54 in order to search for a media link from thenext segment of the current program.

On the other hand, if an end of the current program is detected at theblock 64, program flow returns to the block 52 in order to process anext program. In this case, the current program contained no media linkand the current program will be identified by the computer 32 from theextracted broadcast signatures.

Instead of identifying a program from a media link, the media link maybe used to better focus the search for reference signatures which matchbroadcast signatures. This use of a media link is particularly valuablein those instances where the media link is not unique, i.e., where themedia link is used in more than one program and, therefore, does notuniquely identify a program. In addition to a media link, otherinformation which is ancillary to the program content contained in theprogram signal, such as closed captioning information, may be used forthis reference signature search focusing. Accordingly, media links,closed captioning information, or other such ancillary information maybe referred to herein as content ancillary information (CAI).

A software routine 100, which is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, usescontent ancillary information in order to focus the search for referencesignatures that are to be compared to broadcast signatures during theprocess of identifying a program. The communication equipment 26 mayemploy, in addition to a transmitter, a computer in order to execute thesoftware routine 100.

The software routine 100, at a block 102, determines from the output ofthe tuner 14 whether a program of interest is received, as before. If aprogram of interest is not detected at the block 102, the softwareroutine 100 waits for a program of interest. However, if a program ofinterest is detected, the software routine 100 at a block 104 determineswhether content ancillary information is detected by the media linkdetector 18 from a segment of the current program. If content ancillaryinformation is detected from the current segment of the current programat the block 104, the content ancillary information is logged at a block106.

On the other hand, if content ancillary information is not detected fromthe current segment of the current program at the block 104, or afterthe content ancillary information is logged at a block 106, the softwareroutine 100 at a block 108 extracts a broadcast signature from thecurrent segment of the current program. The software routine 100 at ablock 110 logs the broadcast signature extracted by the signatureextractor 20 at the block 108.

The software routine 100 then determines at a block 112 whether an endto the current program is detected. If an end to the current program isnot yet detected, the software routine 100 at a block 114 waits for thenext segment. When the next segment occurs, program flow returns to theblock 104. When the end of a current program is detected at the block112, a set of broadcast signatures has been extracted and stored forthat program. Also, content ancillary information, if detected, is alsostored for that program. This set of broadcast signatures is compared toreference signatures stored in a reference signature library asdescribed below in an attempt to identify the program corresponding tothis set of broadcast signatures.

Thus, if an end of the current program is detected at the block 112, thesoftware routine 100 at a block 116 determines whether content ancillaryinformation was detected in the program just processed by the blocks102-114. If content ancillary information was detected in the programjust processed by the blocks 102-114, a search of the referencesignatures stored in the reference signature library is made at a block118 in order to find reference signatures corresponding to the contentancillary information. Such reference signatures were previouslyextracted from a program containing the same content ancillaryinformation and were loaded into the reference signature library inassociation with the corresponding content ancillary information.

If content ancillary information was not detected in the program justprocessed by the blocks 102-114, hash codes corresponding to thebroadcast signatures extracted at the block 108 may be computed at ablock 120. A search of the reference signatures stored in the referencesignature library is made at a block 122 in order to find referencesignatures corresponding to the hash codes computed at the block 120.(Alternatively, the broadcast signatures extracted at the block 108 maybe compared to all reference signatures in the reference signatureslibrary.)

The reference signatures found at the block 118 or at the block 122 arecompared at a block 124 to the broadcast signatures extracted from theprogram at the block 108. If a sufficient match is found at the block124, the identification of the program stored in the reference signaturelibrary along with the matching reference signatures is saved at a block126 for later transmission to the central facility 28. The time at whichthe program was received, the length of the program as detected, thechannel in which the program was detected, and other relevantinformation may also be stored at the block 126 along with the programidentification.

If a match is not found at the block 124, the broadcast signaturesextracted from the program at the block 108 and the content ancillaryinformation, if any, for the program are saved at a block 128 for laterclustering and transmission to the central facility 28 so that theprogram can be identified during new program discovery. The time atwhich the program was received, the length of the program as detected,the channel in which the program was detected, and other relevantinformation may also be stored at the block 128 along with the broadcastsignatures extracted at the block 108 and the content ancillaryinformation, if any, detected at the block 104. After the identificationis saved at the block 126, or after the broadcast signatures and contentancillary information are saved at the block 128, program flow returnsto the block 102 to process the next program of interest.

Content ancillary information can also be used during clusteringperformed by the monitoring equipment 10 and/or by the central facility28 in order to cluster broadcast signatures corresponding to unknownprograms. Unknown programs are those programs whose broadcast signaturesdid not favorably compare to any reference signatures stored in thereference signature library and/or which did not contain a programidentifying code such as a media link. Accordingly, to implementclustering, the computer employed in the communication equipment 26and/or the computer 32 of the central facility 28 may execute a softwareroutine 200 shown in FIG. 5.

The time for clustering is determined at a block 202. For example,clustering by the monitoring equipment 10 and/or by the computer 32 maybe performed periodically, such as once a day, or in response to anevent such as a poll or an instruction from a user, or the like. When itis time for clustering as determined at the block 202, the broadcastsignatures corresponding to one unknown program are compared to thebroadcast signatures corresponding to other unknown programs at a block204 based upon the content ancillary information associated with eachset of broadcast signatures. Thus, all sets of broadcast signaturescorresponding to the same first content ancillary information (e.g.,CAI1) are compared to one another. Duplicates are then eliminated sothat only one set of broadcast signatures corresponding to contentancillary information CAI1 is kept. Similarly, all sets of broadcastsignatures corresponding to the same second content ancillaryinformation (e.g., CAI2) are compared to one another, and duplicates arethen eliminated so that only one set of broadcast signaturescorresponding to content ancillary information CAI2 is kept. Thisprocess is repeated for each of the remaining content ancillaryinformation. Then, each set of broadcast signatures which did not have acontent ancillary information associated therewith is compared at ablock 206 to all other remaining sets of broadcast signatures, includingthose remaining sets of broadcast signatures having content ancillaryinformation associated therewith, and any duplicates are eliminated. Asa result of the processing at the blocks 204 and 206, the remaining setsof broadcast signatures are unique and the software routine 200 ends. Asa result, it is necessary to view an unknown program only once duringnew program discovery.

Certain modifications of the present invention have been discussedabove. Other modifications will occur to those practicing in the art ofthe present invention. For example, the tuner 14 may be a tuner whichtunes to a single channel so that a tuner 14 is required for eachchannel to be monitored. In this case, a multiplexer may be arranged tomultiplex signals from some or all of the instances of the tuner 14 tothe meter 17 so that each multiplexed output of the instances of thetuner 14 is processed in turn by the monitoring equipment 10.Alternatively, instead of multiplexing, each tuner 14 may be provided inits own set of monitoring equipment 10. On the other hand, the tuner 14may be a scanning tuner for tuning to each of the channels available atthe monitoring equipment 10, or the channels may be divided up betweenseveral scanning tuners or between a combination of scanning tuners andnon-scanning tuners.

Also, as discussed above, the signature extractor 20 is arranged toextract signatures from the programs to which the tuner 14 is tuned.However, other program identifying data may be captured instead of, orin addition to, signatures. For example, AMOL codes may be detected.Also, the monitoring equipment may be arranged to prompt audiencemembers to manually input a program identification in the event that amedia link is not found in a program. In this case, the non-media linkprogram identifying datum is the manually entered programidentification.

Moreover, it is not necessary to delete from the log those broadcastsignatures which are extracted from a program from which a media link isalso detected. In this case, the block 58 may be eliminated.

Furthermore, as described above, the meter 17 operates in accordancewith the software routine 50. However, the meter 17 may be implementedin hardware, in a combination of software or hardware, or the like.

In addition, detected media links as described above may be used toidentify the programs received by a receiver and/or to verify that theprograms have been transmitted as intended. However, the detection ofmedia links may have many other uses. For example, the detection ofmedia links also may be used to verify that the correct media links weretransmitted in the correct programs, over the correct channels, at thecorrect times, in the correct numbers, etc.

Accordingly, the description of the present invention is to be construedas illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled inthe art the best mode of carrying out the invention. The details may bevaried substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention,and the exclusive use of all modifications which are within the scope ofthe appended claims is reserved.

1. An apparatus comprising: a meter to record a media link embedded in acommercial tuned by a tuner, the media link being activatable toretrieve content different from the tuned commercial from a contentprovider, the meter to further record at least one of a signature and aprogram identification code to identify the commercial, and the meter totimestamp at least one of the media link, the signature and the programidentification code; a program identifier to identify the commercialbased on at least one of the media link, the signature and the programidentification code; and a computer to verify whether the media link wasa correct media link to be broadcast with the identified commercial. 2.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the media link is a URL.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the media link is a code referenced to aURL.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the media link is a trigger. 5.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the media link is a hyperlink.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the computer is to verify whether the medialink was transmitted at at least one of a correct time, on a correctchannel, or a correct number of times.
 7. A verification systemcomprising: a meter to create a log of URLs and program identifiersreceived via a tuner, the log including channel identifiers reflectingchannels on which the URLs were received and timestamps reflecting timesand dates on which the URLs were detected; a verification computer toprocess the log against a database to verify at least one of: whether atleast one of the URLs was transmitted within an agreed time on an agreedchannel; or whether the at least one of the URLs was transmitted inassociation with a predetermined program.
 8. The verification system ofclaim 7 wherein the verification computer is to determine whether the atleast one of the URLs was broadcast at least a predetermined number oftimes.
 9. The verification system of claim 7 wherein the program is acommercial.
 10. A verification system comprising: a meter to create alog of URLs and program signatures received via a tuner, the logincluding timestamps reflecting times and dates on which the URLs weredetected; a program identifier to identify a first program based on atleast one of a first URL and a first signature in the log; averification computer to process the log against a database to verify atleast one of: whether the first URL was transmitted within an agreedtime on an agreed channel; whether the first program with which thefirst URL was transmitted with a predetermined program with which theURL was agreed to be transmitted; or whether the first URL was broadcastat least an agreed number of times.
 11. The verification system of claim10 wherein the program is a commercial.